"Luckily, for me, I was in the exit aisle so I had to actually pay attention," Dan Valladares said. "They always ask you, 'Are you prepared to assist other people in case of an emergency?' I always say yes and never think anything's gonna happen, and this time it happens."

The plane, an Airbus A320, had 148 passengers aboard, and a flight crew of six, including the pilot. The passengers boarded a new plane once they got to Newark.

JetBlue said the pilot made the decision to land after the lightning strike. There were no reports of injuries.

Twitter user @swimmykimy tweeted several times about her experience Friday night and Saturday morning, including one of this photo with the message: "bracing for landing. We were told the flight was struck by lightning. Can't say enough about the crew."